Gaming machines which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate a primary or base game. Certain of these gaming machines randomly determine a game presentation, such as a plurality of symbols displayed on the reels of a slot machine to be presented or displayed to the player. These gaming machines then analyze the randomly generated game presentation in view of a predetermined pay table of all possible game presentations for the specific game played to determine the appropriate award and other outcome that corresponds with the generated game presentation. Certain other known gaming machines use probability data to directly determine awards or other outcomes.
Such probability-based gaming machines typically include a relatively low probability associated with obtaining the highest award or obtaining a game presentation that corresponds to the highest award, relatively medium probabilities associated with obtaining medium range awards or obtaining game presentations that corresponds to medium range awards and relatively higher probabilities associated with low range awards or obtaining game presentations that corresponds to obtaining low range awards. These gaming machines also include probabilities associated with obtaining losses or no award at all.
The probabilities of obtaining the awards and the amount of the awards determine the average expected pay out percentage of these wagering gaming machines. Because the outcomes of these, gaming machines are randomly determined or completely based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that a player will ever obtain any particular award. That is, no matter how many times a player plays the game, since the gaming machine generates outcomes completely based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that the game will ever provide the player with a rare (or very low probability) outcome, such as a jackpot award, or any other specific value for that matter. On the other hand, due to the random determination, the gaming machine can provide the rare (or very low probability) outcomes, such as jackpot awards, numerous times in a small number of plays. For example, a probability-based $1 slot machine gaming machine may be programmed to payback 95% of all wagers placed with a 1% chance of generating a $10 win outcome, a 5% chance of generating a $5 win outcome, a 10% chance of generating a $2 win outcome, a 40% chance of generating a $1 win outcome and a 44% chance of generating a $0 loss outcome. However, when one hundred game outcomes are generated by the probability-based slot machine gaming machine, the actual payback may be 137% of all wagers placed and the actual generated outcomes may be six $10 win outcomes, one $5 win outcome, eighteen $2 win outcomes, thirty-six $1 win outcomes and thirty-nine $0 loss outcomes.
This uncertainty is faced by players and casinos or other gaming establishments. For example, certain casinos prefer that a relatively high number of players hit low awards while a relatively low number of players hit high awards. When players hit high awards periodically, casinos attract more players, because of the positive publicity large wins generate. By using desired payback percentages or probabilities, the casinos can also expect to make a certain level of profit. The random determinations can, however, unexpectedly cause casinos to suffer a on the other hand, to reap great profit in short run and lose business in the long run due to a reputation for only paying out low awards.
Regulatory bodies in certain jurisdictions do not permit the use of probability-based gaming machines in-part for these reasons. These regulatory bodies permit the use of wagering gaming machines which are guaranteed to provide certain or definite awards, so that, for example, a certain number of wins is guaranteed and the overall amount paid back to players is guaranteed. That is, the payback percentage is static and not an average expected amount. One type of gaming machine which complies with this requirement is an instant-type lottery gaming machine. An instant-type lottery gaming machine includes a finite pool or set of electronic tickets with each electronic ticket assigned to a predetermined outcome. Furthermore, each electronic ticket contains an indication of how the predetermined outcome is presented or displayed to the player. Alternatively, each electronic ticket could be assigned to a random number or game play seed. Each seed is deterministic of a predetermined outcome and how the predetermined outcome is presented or displayed to the player. That is, the gaming machine utilizes the random number or game play seed in a random number sequence generator to generate random numbers. The gaming machine uses the generated random numbers to determine, present and provide the predetermined outcome to the player. In an instant-type lottery gaming machine, as the predetermined outcome for each electronic ticket is revealed to a player on the gaming machine, the ticket is removed (i.e., flagged as used) from the finite pool or set of electronic tickets Once flagged, a ticket cannot be used again to determine another game outcome. This type of gaming machine provides players with all of the available outcomes over the course of the play cycle and guarantees the actual wins and losses.
Central determination gaming systems are also generally known. A central determination gaming system provides a plurality of individual gaming machines, located in a gaming establishment, such as a casino, coupled by one or more communication links, to a central processor or controller. When player plays a game on one of the gaming machines, the game outcome and how the game outcome is presented or displayed to the player is communicated from the central processor or controller to the individual gaming machine and then provided to the player. It should be appreciated that the central processor or controller may continuously run hundreds or thousands of individual gaming machines at once. There are a number of advantages to providing for centralized production of game outcomes to be used at individual gaming machines. For example, central production or control can assist a casino or other entity in maintaining proper records, controlling gaming, reducing and preventing cheating or electronic or other errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatility and the like.
To comply with the above mentioned regulatory rules that do not permit the use of probability-based gaming machines, central determination gaming systems have been implemented wherein the central processor or controller maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of game outcomes. Additionally, certain central determination gaming systems have also been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of random number or game outcome seeds. However, this requires a great deal of memory for the central processor or controller because in addition to storing each game outcome, the central processor or controller must also store how each game outcome each pool or set of game outcomes is presented or displayed to the player, such as how the reels stop in the case of a slot machine, how the cards are dealt or drawn in the case of a card game and the like.
Progressive awards associated with gaming machines are also known. In one form, a progressive award is an award amount which includes an initial amount funded by a casino and an additional amount funded through a portion of each wager made on the progressive gaming machines. The progressive award grows in value as players play the gaming machines and more portions of these players' wagers are allocated to the progressive award. When a player obtains a winning symbol or winning symbol combination associated with the progressive award, the accumulated progressive award is provided to the player. After the progressive award is provided to the player, the amount of the next progressive award is reset to the initial value and a portion of each subsequent wager on a gaming machine associated with a progressive award is allocated to the next progressive award.
A progressive award may be associated with or otherwise dedicated to a single or stand-alone gaming machine. Alternatively, a progressive award may be associated with or otherwise dedicated to multiple gaming machines which each contribute a portion of wagers placed at such gaming machine(s) to the progressive award. The multiple gaming machines may be in the same bank of gaming machines, in the same casino or gaming establishment (usually through a local area network (“LAN”)) or in two or more different casinos or gaming establishments (usually through a wide area network (“WAN”)). Such progressive awards are played for by one or more gaming machines in the same gaming establishment sometimes called local area progressives (“LAP”) and such progressive awards played for by a plurality of gaming machines at a plurality of different gaming establishments are sometimes called wide area progressives (“WAP”).
Moreover, a gaming machine or bank of gaming machines may be simultaneously associated with a plurality of progressive awards. In these multi-level progressive (“MLP”) configurations, a plurality of progressive awards start at different award or value levels, such as $10, $100, $1000 and $10,000 and each individually increment increase until provided to a player. Upon a suitable triggering event at one of more or the gaming machines associated with the MLP, one or more of the progressive awards which form the MLP are provided to one or more of the players at such gaming machines.
While progressive awards are popular amongst players, certain players become discouraged by the frequency which such progressive awards are provided. For example, when a progressive award is not provided relatively frequently, a player may feel deflated that the progressive award will not hit for a long period of time and not wish to continue playing the gaming machine. In another example, after a progressive award is provided to a player, a player may not find the reset progressive award desirable or worth the cost of continuing to play. Such a decision to stop playing the gaming machine or not even start playing the gaming machine due to the above-described situations of jackpot fatigue presents a problem to gaming establishment operators.
There is thus a continuing need to provide progressive awards to players and specifically to provide progressive awards to players in association with a central determination gaming system.